The Breakdown

Well hello there again folks. It's that time of the week, the day when shelves are stocked, wallets are lightened and wives are enraged...it's New Release Tuesday!

However, fear not wives, girlfriends, boyfriends, mistresses and imaginary lovers, because this week continues our unyielding drought of anything worth rushing out to buy. So without further adieu, I give you this week's breakdown.

Oz the Great and Powerful, not a terrible movie, but also not the greatest. While the movie was visually stunning, and the story line was intriguing, it just didn't quite knock the ball out of the park. It's a bit like my attempts at my mom's famous rice and chicken, it isn't bad, but something is missing and you just can't put your finger on it. For me personally a large part was the casting of James Franco as the wizard. Honestly, I have a hard time buying him in a lot of these roles, he comes off as awkward and out of place. However, with that said it is overall a serviceable film and I would say worth a watch, if only for the scenery, but I wouldn't say it's worth the buy. I give this one a 6.0 on the "Paul Bettany Scale". Don't drop $5 or $6 on this one, wait for Netflix or Redbox to carry it, it's worth a dollar.

Next we have Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters. This one will be short and easy. Not in some time has there been a movie I have wanted to see less than this one. This movie looked absurd, and felt like a remake of a low budget, "D" movie at best. The only thing that looked worse than the graphics was the plot. Truthfully, I refuse to watch this movie as I hope to maintain some dignity and credibility. So watch this at your own risk. IMDB give this gem a 6.1 (which comes in lower than their rating for Snitch, and you know how I felt about that one, so this has to blow).

And wrapping up the major film releases this week is Snitch. My friends, we've been down this road before and I won't waste your time by diving any deeper into this film. If you want to know what we thought of this movie, check out our "Friday Night at the Movies" episode where we review Snitch and Dark Skies. You can stream or download the episode from our Podcast Archive, or download it and subscribe to our podcast in the iTunes Store.

T.V. to save the day...again

For yet another week it falls to television to save New Release Tuesday. In particular, two great series that hit the shelves today House of Cards and The Newsroom.

House of Cards is a Netflix original series starring Kevin Spacey. Spacey plays a politician who will stop at nothing to achieve his goals, no matter what those goals may be. A surprisingly star-studded cast with even more surprisingly good writing, this show is another example of Netflix doing things right. Definitely worth the watch, I give it an 8.5 on the "P.B.S.", however no need to rush out an purchase it, if you have Netflix you can watch every episode from their Instant Watch offerings.

The Newsroom is an HBO drama about an evening, cable-news anchor who is tired of riding the fence on issues and steps out to boldly cover the news and take no B.S. from anyone. I know, I know it sounds a little boring, but trust me it's amazing. Jeff Daniels kills it in the lead role and the show brilliantly gives a behind the scenes look at how news is discovered, and delivered. Couple this with the personal struggles of our lead, add a dash of Olivia Munn, and you've got cable TV gold! If you haven't seen this one, you simply must and I would definitely add this show to the must buy list. I give The Newsroom a glowing 9.0 so don't hesitate, this is a must see.